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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · lie · bulb · field · rock · fall · board · branch

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. chest — of your body
  3. field — for sport
  4. lie — to recline
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. chest — of your body
  7. board — to get on
  8. rock — a stone
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. rock — music
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fall — to drop
  17. field — farmland
  18. bulb — for light
  19. board — a committee
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chest — a box
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. fall — the season
  24. bulb — for light

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com